Polish Flag: Colors

The national colors are white and red in two horizontal parallel strips
of equal width and length, the upper strip being white and the lower red.
Both strips linked together make up the national flag whose length-to-width
ratio is 8:3.
The Polish flag dates back to the mediaeval pennants. At first it was
all red with a white eagle. Such a flag, or rather a banner, was at the
side of King Wladyslaw Jagiello during the Battle of Grunwald in 1410.
The red and white colors appeared together as late as the 17th century.
The banner of Zygmunt III Vasa (d. 1632) consisted of three strips: the
upper and the bottom ones being red, and the one in the middle - white.
The banners of Wladyslaw IV (d. 1648) and Jan Casimir (d. 1668) were made
up of four strips - the upper and the third from top being red and the
second from top and the bottom one being white. The banners bore the official
crest of the State.

During the reign of August II (d. 1706), white ribbons were introduced
in the army (according to the Saxon pattern) as the signs of prime national
color. They were attached to the left side of the headgear with ornamental
pins. During the Four-Year Sejm (1788-1792) first red-and-white ribbons
appeared.

The Sejm formally introduces Polish national colors during the November
Uprising, on February 7, 1831. The colors were white and red, and were
used in the national uprisings of the 19th century is the form of white-and-red
ribbons. They were officially recognized as state colours in 1919 after
Poland had regained her independence.
Source: Polish
World website.
Dov Gutterman, 21 Feb 1999

I thought that Polish flag ratio is 5:8 (or 8:5 according to above definition
of the ratio)?
Željko Heimer, 24 Feb 1999

"The Polish national flag is built up from 2 horizontal belts: red (amarant)
below and white above. These colors are connected with the color of the
White Eagle used on the red crest. The upper belt is the color of the Eagle,
and the lower - the color of crest. The right proportions of the flag are
5:8 (height:width). The process whereby those colors became the national
flag was quite complicated and gradual. For example, some medieval rule
said, that if the White Eagle is put on the red crest, then the colors
of flag are optional. Nevertheless, red-white colors occurred on the national
flags from XVII-XIX cent. very often, but the location of colors was unstable.
Sometimes it was red above and white below. This situation was resolved
on 1 August 1919. Since that time the flag has been not changed except
for the White Eagle. The communists took off the crown from the Eagle.
It returned in 1989."
Source: "Encyclopaedia of Poland" by Wydawnictwo Kluszczynski,
Krakow, 1996 (my translation)
Mariusz Kedzierski, 24 May 2000

The white over red derives from heraldics: Argent and Gules are the
respective colours of the Polish eagle and of its the field.
Pierre Gay, 13 Oct 1998

Yes, it is. Moreover, there are some (unnecessary) non-heraldic explanations:
traditionally, a white eagle flying over red (rising?) sun, or, during
the communist era, white would have stood for peace while red for socialism.
But, in general, a flag derived from COA according to heraldic rules needs
no further 'explanation'.
Jan Zrzavy, 13 Oct 1998

The protocol manual for the London 2012 Olympics (Flags and Anthems
Manual London 2012 ) provides recommendations for
national flag designs. Each NOC was sent an image of the flag,
including the PMS shades, for their approval by LOCOG. Once this was
obtained, LOCOG produced a 60 x 90 cm version of the flag for further
approval. So, while these specs may not be the official, government,
version of each flag, they are certainly what the NOC believed the
flag to be.

Polish Law on National Symbols

Poland's national symbols are defined by the "Coat of arms, colors and
anthem Act of 31th January 1980" ("Ustawa z dnia 31 stycznia 1980 r. o
godle, barwach i hymnie Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej").
According to the Article 2 of the Act, "The coat of arms of the Republic
of Poland is the image of a white eagle with a gold crown on his head turned
right, with unfolded wings and gold beak and claws, on a red field."
Article 4 of the Act stipulates that: "(1) The colors of the Republic
of Poland are white and red, in two horizontal, parallel bends of equal
breadth, upper white and lower red. (2) If the colours of the Republic
of Poland are placed vertically, white should be on the left side of the
surface, looking from the front."
Art. 6: "(1) The state flag of the Republic of Poland is a rectangular
piece of cloth with the colours of Republic of Poland, placed on a mast.
(2) A flag defined in section (1) with the coat of arms of the Republic
of Poland placed in the centre of the white bend is also a state flag."
Then the Act goes on to stipulate that the state flag is to be hoisted
by the Sejm and Senat (lower and upper houses of the Parliament), the President,
the Government and the Prime Minister, by local authorities (during legislative
sessions) and by other governmental bodies (during national holidays).
It is also hoisted by river and lake ships.
The flag with the coat of arms is to be hoisted by diplomatic, consular
and other official establishments abroad, by civilian airports and airfields,
by civilian airplanes while abroad and by the port authorities.
Polish sea-going ships use the flag with coat of arms as their merchant
ensign.
Bartek Kachniarz, 21 Aug 2000

I think 1990 or 1989, but not 1980. Polish eagle with crown in 1980,
in times of communists ... Hmmm, very doubtful.
Victor Lomantsov, 21 Aug 2000

Wasn't the crown returned to the COA only in early 1990's? Is this a
typo or is it indeed the change made so early?
Željko Heimer, 21 Aug 2000

The act can be as of the year 1980, but have been changed since then.
This is normal legal procedure in many countries, including, I suppose,
Poland. You don't issue a totally new act of law because of all small corrections
you may want to adopt each year. Flag laws are not usually changed very
often.
Elias Granqvist, 21 Aug 2000

The act itself comes from 1980. The crown however is added by an Act
changing the Coat of Arms, Colours and Anthem Act. The changing Act was
enacted February 9th 1990 and is effective since February 22nd 1990.
The Coat of Arms... Act was changed a few times in later years but
the changes did not affect the insignia whatsoever.
An interesting detail for those involved in heraldry: During Communist
era the crown was not the only change. If you look closer at the Polish
eagle, you notice that he has a silver star on each wing. Before World
War II the stars had three points and were called 'the threeleaf' (trojlisc).
The Communists changed it to silver 5-pointed stars. In 1990 there was
a big debate about it.
Finally, they found a middle ground. The star has 3 big arms and 2
smaller ones.
Bartek Kachniarz, 22 Aug 2000

I spotted an error in the notes on FOTW Polish pages regarding the date
of restoration of the crown on eagle's head. It happened much earlier,in
August 1989, when after the creation of the first non-communist government
in the post-WWII era, the crown was restored and General Jaruzelski was
'promoted' from Chairman of the Council of State of Polish Peopleś
Republic to President of Polish Republic.
Chris Kretowicz, 19 Sep 2001

Flagdays

Since 2004, there is an official Polish Flag Day observed on 2 May. May
Day and Constitution Day continue to be public holidays and flag-flying
days, so in practice, the white and red Polish flag is flown continuously
for the first three days of May each year.
Karol Palion, 4 Apr 2006

* May 1 - May 1st National Holiday (formerly Labor Day),
* May 2 - Republic of Poland Flag Day,
* May 3 - May 3rd National Holiday (commonly known as Constitution
Day),
* November 11 - National Independence Day
The proper flag to be flown by citizens is the white and red flag and
*not* the variant with the coat of arms. The flag with the coat of arms
is reserved for maritime and diplomatic usage, among other things. This
is a common mistake made in Poland, as people find the latter version "more
pretty".
Łukasz Garczewski, 1 May 2010

Nickname

I'd like to add the info on the Polish flag. Its nickname is "bialo-czerwona"
("biało-czerwona"), which means "white-red".
Jakub Danilewicz, 23 Mar 2007